Trump Tower floods in sprinkler incident

Water streams through a stairwell on the south side of the Trump Tower.

Water streams through a stairwell on the south side of the Trump Tower. (Peter Frost, Chicago Tribune)

Peter FrostTribune reporter

The first floor of Trump International Hotel and Tower flooded Thursday morning after a pipe burst during a test of the building’s sprinkler system.

A spokesman for the 96-story River North skyscraper said the water has been turned off and crews are making repairs.

"A pipe burst near the west public parking entrance, which is separate from the main entrance of the building," said T. Colm O'Callaghan, vice president and managing director of the building. "Hotel and residential services have not been affected."

Just before 9:30 a.m., workers were seen scrambling to move certain items outside of the tower’s southwest entrance near Wabash Avenue as water poured through the ceiling and gushed down stairs.

The tower also flooded on Feb. 15 after a Chicago Fire Department standpipe was opened, causing an estimated $700,000 in damage.

Three men were charged with felony criminal damage to property: Carl Koenemann, 25, Benjamin Nitch, 25, and Daniel Maradei, 24. All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges and are due back in court July 31.

In that incident, elevator shafts flooded in a 10-minute torrent of water from the fifth-floor stairwell. Woodwork, marble flooring and electrical infrastructure was damaged, but the flooding did not shut down the hotel or private residences.